Effects Of Dietary Supplements

Before taking dietary supplements people should first educate themselves about the precautions of dietary supplements and the law. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act or NLEA of 1990 refers to vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other similar nutritional substances as dietary supplements; these may take the form of tablets, capsules, liquids and powders. Dietary supplements can also include proteins, amino acids, fish oils, extracts from animal glands, and fibers. They can also include compounds that are not classified as food like enzymes, nucleic acids, germanium, bioflavonoids, rutin, and a mixture of all the mentioned ingredients.

According to a study on dietary supplements made by the Dietary Supplement Information Bureau, six in ten Americans about 59 percent report to taking dietary supplements on a regular basis. The general view of that report is that precautions of dietary supplements are unnecessary because supplements are generally safe. They can be bought without a medical prescription and are not classified as medical drugs.

Vitamins and mineral dietary supplements are generally safe and pose no safety concerns or alarming side effects when offered at moderate potencies. There are a lot of acknowledged scientific studies on the interactions with, and benefits of, vitamins and minerals to the body. However, like all natural dietary substances, nutrients, too much of these may be harmful for the body precautions of dietary supplements for vitamins and minerals should still be taken. Excessive effectiveness may cause adverse side effects and can be toxic, while other supplements may contain contaminants. For example, some calcium food supplements were found to contain lead, and high intake of this can be very toxic for the body. Generally, precautions of dietary food supplements for vitamins and minerals include taking supplements that are based on the Recommended Dietary Allowances. Some known threat for high vitamin intake include various child poisoning from excessive intakes of iron; tissue damage from high intakes of selenium; liver damage from high intakes of niacin; diarrhea, bone damage, liver damage, and birth defects from high intakes of Vitamin A; nerve disorder, bone pain, numbness, and muscle weakness from high intakes of Vitamin B6; urinary tract problems and diarrhea from high intakes of Vitamin C, and kidney damage and bone deformity from continuous high intakes of vitamin D.

Many of the medicinal claims for herbs and other botanicals dietary supplements have not yet been fully studied or research to substantiate effectiveness and safety. Precautions of various dietary supplements in the form of herbs and botanicals should be taken particularly when experiencing a severe condition, under medication, when pregnant, and when under the age of 12. Little is known about some of the components contained in these herbal dietary supplements and they are largely unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration Board. Some of the herbal or botanical dietary supplements have showed serious side effects that have caused the FDA to recall products that contain the said ingredients. Some of these herbal ingredients include comfrey, which may cause liver cirrhosis in long term use; chapparal, which are related to toxic hepatitis; germanium, which may cause liver damage; guar gum, which may cause intestinal blockages etc.

• Matt Thompson
• 24/12/2008, 12:59 AM
• 0 Comments